Long Past Dawn
by Shillan Seva
Summary: Bella moves to Forks where she encounters a mysterious family and is thrust into the world of the supernatural. Retelling of Twilight where Bella has a backbone. (Slowburn)
1. Preface

I wasn't afraid of death.

They would probably tell me that it was my lack of self-preservation skills that made me feel this way but regardless, I couldn't change. Death was death and I am only human. It was the reality we all had to come to accept some day. My day came sooner than other's.

Maybe it was selfish to choose my own death over another's. I would never be able to live without them so it only made sense that I die in their place. They'll be angry with me but that is a fate I gladly cherish if it means they're alive to be angry.

Maybe it was noble but it felt selfish to me. I couldn't help but want to be selfish for them. They always told me I could ask for more, I could be selfish. Rosalie would probably disagree and say I've been selfish all along. I couldn't agree more as I faced my death.

James walked across the wooden floor and knelt before me. I prepared to die.


	2. Chapter 1

"I'm going Mom," Bella said as she exited her mothers car outside of the airport. "It's a little too late to back out now."

Bella's mother, Renee, pushed open the driver's side door and turned around to lean across the roof of her silver Chevy. She gave her daughter a look that told her she didn't believe a word she said. "It's never too late."

Renee moved around the side of the car and pulled Bella into a python-like hug and shook are a little bit. "I would love having you with me as we toured this summer," she said as she released Bella. "Phil would too!"

Bella just shook her head at Renee. She could see the sincerity in her mother's eyes but she could also see that Renee was looking forward to the time alone with Phil. This was technically their honeymoon after all. No season was ever truly off for an athlete so while Phil traveled with his minor league team, Renee would be going with him. It was going to be like a mini vacation for them but it would be more like babysitting if Bella went with.

"Mom," Bella said trailing off and raising an eyebrow at her mother. Renee gave her a look of questioning. To avoid that conversation, Bella shook off her mother's hands and went around to the back of the car to grab her suitcases. "Besides, I like Forks," she said more to convince herself than Renee.

They both knew that was bullshit. Bella and Charlie had been vacationing in California for the last three years specifically because Bella could no longer stand the quaint and rustic charm of rural Washington life. It only took one month every year for fourteen years for her to be fed up with it.

"Alright," Renee said showing she wasn't buying Bella's lies. "But know that you can always change your mind. We will still have the house in Phoenix."

"Thanks Mom," Bella sighed pulling Renee into one last tight hug before she went into the airport. She told her mom to leave after dropping her off. She knew if Renee stayed with her all the way up to security, Bella would change her mind.

The plane trip to Seattle wasn't terrible but Bella couldn't help but think of the sunny warmth she was leaving behind in Arizona. That's why she hated Forks the most. It was so dark and gloomy and rainy all the time. There was no such thing as seasonal depression in Washington because it was like that all year. Bella shivered just thinking of the rain.

Her second flight from Seattle to Port Angeles was turbulent and rough from a storm coming in off the coast but she tried not to take it as a bad omen. She knew she wouldn't exactly be happy in Forks but there would always be ways to make herself less miserable. Regardless of the weather, Forks was in a beautiful area. The forest was always green and the rain only made it greener. One of Bella's favorite things was the way the light filtered through the tree tops on sunny days and she almost considered the rain worth it to see that. Maybe she could pick up photography just to capture that beauty.

Rural Washington was definitely made for those with more athletic hobbies though. The proximity to the ocean, the Rockies, and so many national parks made it a haven for those who were outdoorsy. Bella didn't even like camping and there was no way she'd be able to escape all of the Charlie's fishing trips. She only hopped that he still had that friend down on the reservation who went with him if only to save her from the monotony.

She loved her father. She did. Honestly. But they were somehow they exact same person and complete opposites at the same time. Both fairly quiet and reserved but when it came to hobbies, Bella would rather read a book. Bella wasn't even sure Charlie had picked up a book since he read to her when she was little.

When Bella stumbled off the plane in Port Angeles, she didn't expect to see Charlie waiting for her on the other side of the gate. She assumed he would wait in his cruiser outside but there he was. He was dressed in a plaid flannel with a green jacket over the top and faded denim jeans. He looked like a dad straight down to the New Balance sneakers on his feet which Bella couldn't help but smirk at. The hair on his head was just starting to gather some grey that had spread to his mustache as well and he was grinning ear to ear when he caught sight of Bella.

She knew he missed her. Hell, she missed him too. Despite everything she really truly did love her dad and missed him when she was home if only because they were such kindred spirits. She smiled back at him as he started to wave and call her over. It was strange to see him excited but Bella just laughed and pulled her luggage over to Charlie who pulled her into an awkward one armed hug then grabbed her suitcase from her.

"How ya doing kid?" Charlie asked as he headed for the exit. He paused briefly and handed Bella a jacket that she hadn't noticed hanging over his arm. "Here. It's a bit chilly out today."

"Thanks," she said quietly. She smiled at his thoughtfulness and wondered if maybe the car ride wouldn't be so awkward after all. "I'm okay. Adjusting." She didn't want to lie to him but she figured half truths weren't exactly lies so they would be okay.

He grunted in response and kept walking. Outside it was misting and the clouds nearly blocked out the mountains in the distance as the mist hung low in the sky. Bella was surprised her plane even landed in this weather. She took a deep breath as she examined her surroundings. The air was salty from the ocean just a couple miles from the airport and she knew that on a clear day, she'd have been able to see the Strait of Juan de Fuca where her dad once thought it would be fun to take her fishing but nearly capsized their little boat when an unexpected storm had rolled through.

Bella liked the smell of the ocean. It reminded her that there was an entire world out there and Forks, Washington was not going to be her prison. Sure the weather sucked, but Bella was determined to make the best of it. How could she move to one of the most beautiful areas in the continental US and not at least try to find some value in it?

The car ride back to Forks was quiet but it was easy enough for Bella to distract herself watching as the scenery flashed by. There were a few times when Bella could have sworn she saw something running alongside them in the forest but she chalked that up to the rain on the window blurring her vision. Nothing in Washington could run that fast.

About fifteen minutes outside Forks, Charlie spoke up again and told her about the changes he had made to the house for her. A new bedspread, a computer, a desk, all very simple things until he mentioned that he also got her a welcome home gift. Bella groaned internally at that. Charlie had never been the best gift giver and she had never been the best liar. The end result always left someone with hurt feelings. Charlie glanced at her expression and chuckled.

"Don't be that way," Charlie said. "You were already gonna get one so I just beat you to it."

Bella's eyebrows scrunched at him and he just shrugged. The only thing she was going to buy when she got here was some school supplies and then start saving up for a car but Charlie wouldn't buy her school supplies because he didn't know what she needed and there's no way he would have enough money for a car.

"An old friend of mine was selling it real cheap," Charlie explained. "It's old and seen better days but it's hearty and reliable and it runs. Should get you to school and back anyways."

"Ch-Dad," she said, stopping herself from calling him Charlie. "You didn't have to do that. I was saving money to get one myself."

"Yeah, well, the opportunity presented itself. Who was I to say no?" he chuckled at Bella's look of chagrin.

"At least let me pay you back?" Bella pushed. She knew he would say no but she wouldn't be Bella if she didn't try.

"No," Charlie said, shaking his head. "I got it real cheap Bella. It was honestly no trouble."

She frowned. "Okay..."

The pulled into the gravel driveway just a few minutes later and Bella stepped out of Charlie's cruiser to take in his house... her house... their house. It hadn't changed since she was born. It was in serious need of a fresh coat of paint and the windows looked like they had seen a few too many rainstorms. The lawn looked like it had been neglected for several weeks now and desperately needed trimming. Bella's work would be cut out for her living with Charlie. It was beginning to look like it wouldn't actually be so different from living with Renee after all but rather than trying to keep Renee from going too wild, Bella was going to have to liven Charlie up a bit. She wasn't going to spend her life picking up after a grown man.

In the driveway sat a truck. It was old and junkie and red. Bella loved it instantly. "That's for me?" Bella asked. Charlie nodded sheepishly as they got out of the car and he scratched the back of his head.

"Is it okay?"

"I love it," Bella said moving around the cruiser to hug her father. His smile widened at her reaction as he told her about Billy Black who fixed up the car down on the rez with the help of his son, Jacob. They had replaced the engine a few years ago and they tuned up a few other things so that it should run fine as long as it wasn't pushed too hard. He handed Bella the keys and she jumped inside taking a look. It was a stick shift so she would need to learn that but otherwise it was perfect. It even had a new radio which looked oddly out of placed compared to the Chevy's rundown interior.

"Thank you Dad," Bella said hugging Charlie one more time for good measure. "Seriously, thank you."

Charlie tried to pretend like he wasn't relieved at how happy Bella was but she could tell and just went back to getting her things. Unloading Bella's things only took one trip as she only had what she could take on a plane and the rest had already been shipped by her mother weeks earlier. Her room was just as she left it three years ago with the few notable exceptions that Charlie had already told her about. The nursing chair from when she was an infant even still stood in the corner of the room.

"Well," Charlie said. "I'll leave you to it. If you need me, I'll be downstairs. Maybe in a few hours we can head into town and get some dinner?"

Bella nodded and gave Charlie a small smile. She was glad they were similar sometimes. Renee would have stayed and sat on Bella's bed while Bella tried to unpack and organize but Charlie didn't like to hover. Bella appreciated that. There was only so much socializing, even with family, that she could take before she finally went a little nuts.

She sat on her bed looking at the few pieces of clothing that had been warm enough to justify bringing to Washington. It wasn't much. Maybe a week and a half worth? She would probably have to rectify that soon and wondered if her truck could get her to Port Angeles and back. And thinking of her truck brought her to the decision that she should probably start to brush up on some auto repair stuff. At the very least she should know how to change a tire and replace the oil.

Bella booted up the old computer on her desk to Google how to manage her new-to-her car and was in the middle of reading how to replace a headlight bulb when Charlie called her downstairs. She glanced at the unopened boxes and suitcase in her room before shrugging and running down the stairs. She stumbled off the bottom step and nearly fell flat on her butt but managed to catch herself. She scratched her head and grinned hoping that Charlie hadn't noticed her fumble. He hadn't. He was too busy, engrossed in whatever sports game was on the television.

The living room was small and opened directly off to the side of the front door. There was a television on the far wall, a fireplace to its right, and a window further right, opening out onto the front yard. A recliner sat in the corner of the room and a full couch sat directly in the middle. The remaining side of the room opened into a small kitchen where a small dinner table sat surrounded by four chairs. The furniture in both rooms was old, probably from when Charlie and Renee had just gotten married. Charlie wasn't much for shopping so it didn't surprise Bella that nothing had really changed. She couldn't blame him either. She wasn't exactly a fan of shopping too and all things considered, everything looked perfectly functional.

"What's up Dad?" Bella said grabbing his attention from whatever football game was on the tv.

"Oh," he said. He got out of his chair and moved to the front door. "You hungry? We can go get some dinner. I don't really have any food here yet but I figured we could go grocery shopping tomorrow."

"Uh, yeah, sure dad."

Dinner was uneventful. Charlie introduced Bella to the wait-staff of the local diner. Apparently he ate there almost every day. Bella knew that had to change. She loved greasy diner food as much as the next person but sometimes she wanted a salad.

That night, after they'd gotten back to the house, Bella returned to putting her things away. It didn't take more than a half an hour to put away all of her clothes so she spent an hour or so browsing the web looking for ideas on how to change her room without it costing her an arm and a leg. She had extra cash now that she didn't need to buy a car, she might as well make herself more comfortable.

She didn't sleep well that night. Between the thundering of the rain on the roof and the nerves about school the next day, Bella was a mess. She couldn't shut her brain down. She wasn't able to fall asleep until well past midnight when the rain had dulled to a light sprinkle.

In the morning, Bella had wondered into the bathroom to shower and clean up then got dressed. She stood looking in the mirror that hung on the back of her door and lamented at how she didn't look like she was from Arizona. She was pale and lanky for her average height. It probably contributed to her inability to play a sport without killing herself or someone else. She sighed heavily at her reflection before heading downstairs to grab something quick for breakfast. All Charlie had was poptarts but luckily he left some money on the fridge for her for lunch so she wouldn't be stuck with just this sugary nonsense all day.

It was cold and blustery outside. She ran to her truck trying to keep out of the chill of the wind. It was going to storm again today that much she could tell but she was silently thankful that Charlie had given her this black raincoat. She turned the key in the ignition of her truck and it roared to life with little struggle, another good sign.

She pulled into the lot of the school nearly a half an hour before her first class was supposed to start and snagged a spot in the back of the lot away from the other students. Relief flooded her system as she noted that many other students had old cars like her own. She wanted to stick out as little as possible. Even her raincoat was similar to the other students', she noted.

The school was set up less like the schools she was used to and more like a college campus. Different departments had different buildings and they were all spread out in a fenced in area. The main office was building one, directly off of the parking lot so Bella headed that way in hopes they would be able to tell her where to go. In the office, a large red-headed woman in a drab purple shirt gave Bella her schedule and a map of the school buildings. She gave the woman a thank you and left the building trying to memorize the map as quickly as possible so she wouldn't have to sit with her nose in it during each passing period.

She followed a couple students in similar raincoats around the office building toward where she thought the English building would be. Building three loomed across a quad where started running as the sky broke open. Bella cursed under her breath and picked up her pace as well but knowing her aptitude for injuries she kept to speed walking. She entered the building behind two blonde-headed girls and copied their movements as they hung their rain jackets next to the door. The teacher signed off on her slip and directed her to the back of the classroom for her seat.

Bella slumped into the seat sighing heavily before she began to examine the syllabus. She'd read every book on the list already. That was boring. She briefly wondered if Renee would send her the essays she'd written for them already before shaking off the idea knowing that her mother would tell her no. Renee liked to goof off and mess around but she never messed around with Bella's schooling.

The class was long and slow as the teacher droned on about the upcoming year. Bella zoned out watching the rain outside the window and feeling miserable. She was already bored with this class which sucked because English was her favorite subject and now she wouldn't even get to enjoy it. Toward the end of the class, she heard a noise coming from the boy beside her. She turned to look at him and he nodded quickly. "Hey, you're Isabella Swan right?"

"Just Bella," she whispered back trying not to be overheard by the teacher.

"Hi Just Bella," he said smiling at her. "I'm Eric."

Bella smiled back. He was definitely the nerdy type, chess club nerdy type. Skinny and awkward but friendly and probably overly helpful. She couldn't help but smile back at his friendliness.

The bell rang just a few minutes later and Eric caught her attention again. "So Just Bella," he said. "Where's your next class?"

"Um," she said and then pulled her schedule out of the side pocket of her bag. "Building six, Government."

"Hey! I'm heading next door," he said excitedly. "I'll show you the way."

Bella smiled, happy for the help. The walk there was filled with question after question fired at her. How did she like Forks? What did she think of all the rain? What's Arizona like? She quickly learned the sarcasm went straight over Eric's head and she had to stick to more truthful answers or maybe not more truthful but more plausible. The rest of the morning went much the same way. She slowly began to recognize some faces and even sat next to the same girl in two class. She instantly forgot her name the minute she said it but tried to be friendly none-the-less. After her fourth period of the day was over, the girl even offered to show her to the cafeteria and sit with her for lunch. Bella almost declined the offer but figured her senior year would be easier with friends rather than without.

Lunch was nearly uneventful. The girl, whose name she finally figured out was Jessica, introduced her to several of the people she sat with at lunch. All names instantly forgotten but Bella did her best to keep up with their questions and conversation. It wasn't until nearly half way through the period that a gust of wind spiraled through the lunch room and drew nearly every student's attention to the opening doors.

Bella watched as they settled into a table at the far side of the lunch room after gathering their food. They didn't so much as touch it and barely talked to each other.

"Who are they?" Bella whispered the question for some reason. She was nearly entranced by them and because they were paying no mind to any of the student body, she felt completely unabashed about her staring.

"Oh," Jessica said with a dramatic flip of her hand. "Those are the Cullens. Emmett, Edward, and Alice Cullen and then Rosalie and Jasper Hale. Obviously they're gorgeous but they pay no attention to anyone else but themselves."

"They're new too," a girl with dark brown hair said. "They were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife after their parents died. The three Cullens are apparently all cousins and the Hales are twins."

Bella nodded her head. "Which one is which?"

"The big guy that looks like he could crush you is Emmett," one of the guys said. "He's actually the least weird of them all. Pretty funny if he says anything to you."

"Alice and Jasper are the two holding hands on the table," Jessica said. "They're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

Bella watched the two as Jessica and the brown haired girl discussed the legitimacy of dating your adopted sibling and noticed that the girl, Alice, glanced this way and smirked as she started to talk to Jasper.

"The last guy is Edward," Jessica said. "He's broody. And probably gay."

"She's just saying that cause she got rejected," the brown haired girl laughed.

"Then there's Rosalie," another person said. Everything else faded out when Bella saw Rosalie. She was gorgeous. Like straight off the cover of a magazine gorgeous. Bella's eyes roved over her lithe form from her long legs all the way to her porcelain face. She wasn't snapped out of her trance until she realized the bell was ringing and the brown haired girl who considerately reminded Bella her name was Angela, pulled her attention back to the table to ask where she was headed next.

Bella was aware that she mumbled something about Biology but she was still concerned with catching on last glimpse of Rosalie Hale before she left the cafeteria. Angela walked along with her to the science building and into the classroom and Bella realized she'd said they had class together. She was happy about that until she realized Angela already had a lab partner.

And the only lab table open was with Edward Cullen. He smiled cautiously at Bella when she first entered the room and she gave a confused smile back. She turned her attention to Mr. Banner, the teacher, who signed her slip and handed her a heavily used biology book before gruffly telling her they were in the middle of cellular anatomy, something she already learned.

Bella turned to walk to her new lab station and noticed that Edward was no longer wearing his hesitant smile and was now grimacing at her. His hand was covering his face across his nose and Bella wondered briefly if he was smelling something bad. She sat down next to him cautiously and watched as his body only got more tense and he clenched his fist that rested on his lap. She smelled her own hair as discreetly as she could hoping that it wasn't her that smelled but her hair smelled of its typical strawberry shampoo.

There was a point in class where Bella thought Edward was going to throw up but he just remained taut almost to the point of shaking like he was holding himself back. He tried to introduce himself after Mr. Banner had finally put on the movie but whatever was causing his ailment would barely let him speak and by the time the class was over, Edward was so wound up that when the bell rang he sprang from his seat and out the door faster than Bella could have said his name.

She remained there unmoving for nearly a minute wondering what she had done to cause so much disgust towards her before she began to pack her things up.

"Hey," a boy said from beside her. He was cute, boy-faced. His short blond hair was spiked up and he wore a Letterman's jacket. "You're Bella right?"

Bella nodded distractedly.

"What class do you have next? Do you need help finding it?" he asked hastily as Bella left the classroom.

"I have gym next but I think I can make it," she said politely.

"Oh! Hey, I have gym next too, I'll walk with you," he said. He was talkative. Not as inquisitive as Eric though which was nice. Bella just let him lead the conversation.

"So what did you do to Cullen?" Mike asked with a laugh. "I've never seen him so angry."

"So you noticed that too?" Bella questioned. "I have no idea. I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself and it was like he was either trying to set my head on fire or like I made him want to vomit."

"That's weird," Mike said. "I've never seen him like that. Most people can't get any reaction but a yes or no from him but it looked like you stabbed him with a pencil."

Bella laughed at that and allowed Mike to ramble on about whatever he wanted. He was nice enough and cute in a boyish way so she wasn't too upset about his company. Outside the locker rooms Mike paused to keep talking to her. Eventually he realized how close he was to being late and vanished into the locker room to change. Bella sighed with relief and went to find the teacher who signed her slip and handed her a spare gym uniform. Luckily, the teacher didn't make her change that day and she was able to just watch. No one would survive if she was forced to play volleyball.

When class was finally out for the day, Bella walked to the main office to turn in her attendance slip. She quietly entered the office when she noticed Edward talking animatedly with the front desk secretary. After several minutes she understood what he was so upset about. He was trying to transfer out of her biology period to literally anything else. It wasn't until another student walked in and let a strong gust of wind in through the door startling the wind chimes over the top desk that Edward realized she was there.

"Fine," he said briskly. "I see there is nothing you can do. Thank you for your help."

He stormed out of the door leaving an empty silence in the room. Bella approached the front desk to turn in her slip.

"How was your day dear?" the front desk woman asked.

"It was fine," Bella lied. She did a lot of lying that day. It was draining and she was just ready to get home. She handed the woman her slip and walked as quickly as she could to her truck where she sucked in a couple deep breaths and began the drive home, just barely holding back tears.


	3. Chapter 2

The rest of the week passed with relative ease. The weather still sucked and Bella still had to play volleyball but she had people to sit with and knew what to expect from her classes. She still had troubles sleeping with the rain keeping her up at night but she managed her way through the day with a copious dose of coffee before school and a caffeinated beverage at lunch.

But Edward was gone. And despite the outward happiness and safety she felt regarding that lucky coincidence, she couldn't help but wonder if she was the reason for his week long disappearance. Every lunch period, Bella would settle down at the table of the now conjoined friend groups of Mike and Jessica and then watch cautiously to see if Edward would appear at the Cullens' sides. He never did and his absence had left Bella feeling free to laugh and be comfortable. Comfortable enough to watch the other Cullens.

She took to sitting across the table from her first seat so that she could view them without seeming creepy. She acknowledge that she was actually creepy but she couldn't make herself care too much when her vision always felt an inexplicable pull towards their table. At least this way it wasn't so obvious.

She gathered from watching them over the week that Emmett and Alice were the livelier of the four. They always seemed to be laughing at something. Rosalie and Jasper just seemed content to sit with their siblings in silence. Jasper would at least smile occasionally but Rosalie was nearly always stoic. Bella watched Rosalie the most. Something about the blonde intrigued her. Maybe it was the way she tried to act so cold to the rest of the student body but would occasionally slip up and smile when Alice or Emmett said something. Bella was in awe the first time she saw Rosalie's small smile at whatever joke had made Emmett fall out of his chair. She wished Rosalie would look at her like that someday. Or even just look at her. Bella couldn't be sure but she was almost positive the blonde knew Bella was watching her and was adamant that she pay it absolutely no mind. Her eyes never even slipped Bella's way even after she tripped over a chair leg and scattered her tray and its contents across the cafeteria floor. Not even a glance. Bella didn't even understand why that bothered her.

By Friday, people at her table had started to notice how often she was caught glancing at the Cullen table. Mike had taken to following her like a lost dog now. Between every class, before and after school, and all the way through lunch, he was plastered to Bella's side chattering away about this or that so of course he was the first to notice her nearly unabashed staring. She was beginning to have the suspicion that she would have to let him down gently very soon. The thought made her nervous though. In a small town like Forks where everyone lived on top of one another, people needed to be diplomatic with each other to avoid unnecessary drama which Bella in particular wanted to avoid at all costs.

The next Monday morning after leaving her English class, Mike following along as usual, Bella exited the building to find that the ground was covered in white and the sky was dropping more with every second. She hated snow. With snow came cold and with cold came more misery for Bella. Mike had started pelting other students with balls of snow the instant he realized what the Washington weather had gifted him and Bella had skittered away nervously for fear of being one of his victims.

By the time lunch came around, it seemed like a majority of the student body had taken part in some snowball fight or another. The lunch room was alive with chatter about the new snow and Mike was trying to organize a full-scale snowball fight with the entire school. He was trying to convince Bella to join when she noticed that there was an extra body at the Cullen's table.

Her heart had done back flips in fear and she felt suddenly nauseous with nerves. Edward was back.

Mike noticed that suddenly Bella's mind was somewhere else and was unsurprised to see her staring at the Cullen table though he was surprised to note the fear in her eyes.

"Edward's back," Mike said trying to get her attention. Bella just nodded completely aware that Mike was trying to talk to her. In her head she was panicking. She watched the Cullens from under the shadow of her hair. Edward was back. And he looked different. He was smiling and happy as he laughed at how Emmett tried to shake the snow out of his hair onto Rosalie's lap. Bella's eyes lingered on Rosalie for a moment as she scowled at him but soon found their way back to Edward. She considered how he had acted that first day in class. The way he had seemed friendly and then sick and then angry and Bella couldn't help but be afraid. She figured she should probably just skip biology and take the coward's way out but she also wasn't completely convinced she wasn't just making the whole thing up in her head. So she made herself a deal. When Edward eventually catches her eye, if he is angry, she'll skip biology.

She watched them for several minutes, her eyes unconsciously drifting back to Rosalie as they always did and she was captivated. It wasn't until Bella caught the nearly imperceptible tilt of Rosalie's head toward Bella's table and the quick kick of Edward's leg under the table that she finally caught Edward's eye. He looked curious. There was no anger. No friendliness. But no anger. Bella had no choice but to go to class. She wondered how Rosalie had known she was staring. The blonde still refused to make eye-contact across the lunch room and Bella never saw her look in their direction. Maybe it was all a coincidence but that had seemed like a pretty deliberate action to Bella.

The bell rang and Bella gathered her things back into her backpack. She was prepared to weather the snow with binder in hand to block any incoming snowballs when she heard Mike groan ahead of her. During lunch, the air had warmed and it was now raining in typical Forks fashion. All the snow had melted from the ground. Bella felt relief as she pulled her hood tighter around her head to protect it from the misty rain and walked towards the science building with Mike who spent the whole walk complaining about his ruined snowball plans.

Bella anxiously made her way to biology. The closer she got to the building, the more she wanted to turn away and run. She knew he was already there. She'd seen him leave the lunch room and she had cautiously tracked his movements through the window as long as she could. The relief she felt when he was finally out of her line of sight was so much so that Mike asked if she was feeling better. The color had returned to her face, or whatever color someone as pale as Bella could have.

She assured Mike she was fine and they had left for class. As she hung her coat up, she could feel her heart rate picking up almost like she could sense her proximity to the nearest Cullen. She took a couple deep breaths before she entered the classroom and looked to her lab table...

And found Rosalie sitting there instead...

Bella's eyebrows immediately shot up at the unexpected presence. Rosalie was a senior. What was she doing in Junior Biology? And where was Edward? Was Rosalie about to lay into Bella? That was the only logical explanation to her. Rosalie was there to beat up Bella for whatever she did to Edward last week or at least to threaten her. Bella held her breath all the way to her seat and when she sat down, she waited for the harsh words to come. And she waited. And waited. And waited. No mean or cruel words came her way and Bella finally chanced a glance at the blonde next to her.

Rosalie was staring firmly toward the front of the class, completely ignoring Bella's presence. Bella tried to clear her throat and get Rosalie's attention but to no success. Assuming Rosalie hadn't hear her, she cleared her throat again and began to try and introduce herself only to be cut off by an icy, cold voice.

"Not interested," Rosalie said. She didn't even look Bella in the eye. Bella couldn't even make herself care though because she was caught up in a weird combination of attraction to Rosalie's voice and fear from the way she had said the words.

Mr. Banner saved her from whatever embarrassing response she would have come up with by calling the class to attention. He did address Rosalie's presence and instead began whatever lesson he had prepared for the day. Bella noticed that other students in the class kept glancing Rosalie's way as well wondering about her presence in the classroom. Turned out that Mr. Banner's plan for that day was a movie so Bella didn't even have a proper distraction from the intimidating figure beside her.

She tried to pay attention to the video, something about cellular division. But she had learned this already and the video held absolutely no interest to her. She tried to distract herself with doodling on her notebook but also to no avail because her eyes kept wandering back to Rosalie. She never directly turned toward her but she would stare at the hands elegantly clasped on the table and the grey jacket that hung like a second skin over her sides.

Bella felt hopelessly attracted to Rosalie. A fact she didn't easily admit as she'd never held attraction to women before. She felt ridiculous thinking it but she had gay friends, she wasn't homophobic. She just never thought that she was gay. She still didn't. Bisexual briefly crossed her mind before she decided that it was probably normal for any girl to feel this way about Rosalie because she was... well... Rosalie? She just wished she understood why blonde needed to ignore her in particular when yeah, she might not give anyone else the time of day but she would at least make eye contact with them.

When the bell finally rang, Bella was busy going through ever scenario in her head that she could possibly think of that could have possibly made Rosalie hate her in particular. She wondered if Rosalie hadn't caught her staring too many times now and was just creeped out by Bella. That seemed the most likely as they had never said anything to each other before today.

Bella slowly packed her things away again realizing she hadn't written a single note that period. Mike was quick to pull her out of her internal monologue though when he popped up beside her and started dragging her towards the door so they could go to gym class. It was still volleyball. A sport that Mike particularly enjoyed, probably because the girls all wore shorts rather than the sweatpants many kept in their lockers.

She wondered if she could fake sick to get out of gym but eventually decided it wasn't worth the effort. She would just stay out of the way and hope that her team could pick up her slack.

As the class gathered in the gymnasium, Mike and Jessica talked beside her. Jessica was trying her hardest to flirt with Mike but the boy was as dull as they come when it came to girls. He had no idea that Jessica was absolutely infatuated with him. He kept trying to get Bella to talk and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with whatever conversation they were having. Not that she really knew. She wasn't paying attention.

Soon enough class was called to order and separate volleyball games around the gym began. Bella's team had groaned when she was assigned to their team and she couldn't even blame them enough to be offended. She dodged as many of the volleyballs as she could but inevitably one came flying her way and she had no option but to hit it. Straight at the back of Mike's head.

"It's okay," Mike said. He was holding a hand against the back of his head. He had turned to yell at her at first but when he had seen that it was Bella who was the culprit, he quickly laughed it off and teased her about her lack of coordination. She tried to smile and laugh about it too but she felt guilty and she could see the daggers glared at her from Jessica.

Bella asked to go to the bathroom after that and was able to avoid the remainder of the class by telling her teacher that she'd gotten her period and needed to change. She didn't even feel ashamed of that. Honestly she was doing the rest of the class a favor by removing herself from the class. Even Mike had shown relief when she'd left the gym to go change.

After changing there was only a couple minutes of class left so she decided to just get a head start to her car. When she approached the parking lot she could see the Cullens in their normal place at the back of the lot. It looked like they were still missing Emmett and were getting ready to go. Bella could see Rosalie leaned up against her car examining her nails which Bella was sure were impeccable. She'd spent the entirety of sixth period staring at them.

She continued to watch the blonde as she walked towards her truck. She wasn't parked too far from the Cullens though a row more forward than them. Most people avoided parking around them. Probably afraid of damaging the really nice cars since most of the rest of them had a car that was nearly two decades old or more. Bella definitely wasn't going to park next to them. She'd probably crush them on the ice if she skid too hard.

Bella laughed at herself knowing for sure her hefty truck would absolutely pulverize Edward's tiny Volvo. It might as well have been a Hot Wheels car in comparison, granted it would be a pretty lame Hot Wheels car. Her eyes wandered from Rosalie to Edward who was talking with Alice. The smaller sister was giggling over something that had Edward smirking. Rosalie was shaking her head at the two

Bella watched Rosalie again. Even from where she stood across the parking lot Bella could see her small smile. It made her heart flutter. So much so that Bella didn't hear the squealing of tires behind her until she heard a voice scream, "Bella watch out!"

She turned too fast and slipped on the ice under feet. She clenched her eyes shut in the pain and then heard the unmistakable sound of car sliding on ice. She looked up to see a black van hurtling at her and she tried to get to her feet. It was like the world was suddenly moving in slow motion and she still couldn't keep up so she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.

What felt like ten seconds passed and she opened her eyes.

Rosalie.

It was Rosalie and she was looking at her like the most precious thing in the world. Bella got lost in her eyes the instant she met them. So deep and honey gold. Bella's heart pounded. She completely forgot about almost dying. Her eyes moved from Rosalie's eyes to her lips and she realized that Rosalie was trying to say something. Where had Rosalie come from? She shook her head.

"What?" Bella said. She clenched her eyes shut for a second and reopened them to clear her mind.

"Bella." Rosalie's voice sounded like an angel singing. "Are you okay?"

Bella just nodded her head unsure of what to say to the beautiful woman who stood before her. Where had she come from? Bella had seen her across the parking lot just seconds ago. Bella suddenly became aware of something dripping into her eyes and she wiped her hand across her forehead to figure out what it was.

Her fingers were coated in shimmering red. Blood. Bella's stomach started to roll at the sight and she felt light headed.

Everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 3

Bella awoke to the sensation of something cold touching her forehead. Whatever it was felt good and she had to resist the temptation to lean into the strange touch. When the sensation pulled away, Bella let her eyes drift open only to find an ethereal, pale woman sitting next to her. Bella's face contorted into confusion as her eyes drifted over the woman's face. She had honey-brown hair and a soft, inviting smile. And her eyes—they reminded Bella of Rosalie's.

Instantly, all the memories of the earlier that day flooded into Bella's head and her eyes opened comically wide. She opened her mouth to say something but the beautiful woman next to her beat her to it.

"How are you feeling honey?" she said. Her voice was beautiful and the way it vibrated through her mind, made her think of a quiet river running through a forest. The aura that surrounded the woman was gentle and calming and Bella instantly felt herself relax back into the pillows behind her. Bella barely even registered what the woman had said to her but responded that she was fine. Her typical response.

She looked around herself and realized that she was in a hospital room. Bright, white walls surrounded her while the smell of sterile bedding filled her nose. She wrinkled her face at that. She hated hospitals. She'd spent enough time in them as a kid, and she never appreciated going back.

"I'm Esme Cullen," the woman said, pulling Bella out of her scrutiny. Esme was smiling at Bella warmly. "I believe you know some of my children."

"Oh, um, yeah," Bella muttered, gracefully and nodded. Her head felt like a bobble-head doll and the sudden, jolted movement sent a shot of pain through her skull. Her hand went up to hold her head, pressing against the sides to hold the rattling still.

Esme stood quickly and held out an ice pack that Bella hadn't noticed in her lap. "Here you go dear. This should help."

The cold sensation returned to her forehead and she once again felt comforted. Now she understood why. Esme just seemed to have that effect on her.

Bella took the ice-pack from Esme's hand. Her fingers brushed softly over the older woman's and she had to hold back a flinch at the coolness she felt from the woman. While holding the ice pack to her head, Bella cautiously looked for any sign of Rosalie in the room. She'd been there when she passed out.

"She went for dinner," Esme said. Her smile once again comforting Bella. "She should be back soon."

"Oh," Bella said. She had to remind herself not to nod her head again. "Do you know what happened? What about Tyler? Has anyone called Charlie?"

The flood of questions startled Bella, and she flushed a crimson read. Esme placed her hand across her arm that lay along the side of the bed. "Your father is on his way. I'm merely a placeholder to keep an eye on you. As for the accident, well it seems the entirety of the high school knows what happened. They are all in the waiting room. Tyler is okay but he is going to be on crutches for a while."

Bella felt like her head was going to fall off from how much she'd been nodding but she responded again with a nod. She continued shyly, "What about Rosalie?"

"Rosalie is fine dear." Esme's smile seemed the warmest it had been yet.

Bella's response was interrupted by the door to her room opening and Charlie walking in. He was still in his work gear, and his eyes were frantic. They washed over her in panic as he approached. "What happened Bella? Are you okay?"

"You know me and blood," Bella chuckled. Her hand reached up and touched her forehead where she could feel the scab forming. "I just fainted. I'm fine."

"Bella, you just got hit by a van," Charlie said. The exasperation seeped into his voice and he threw his hat down on the bedside table. Esme rose from her place next to Bella and turned toward the distraught father.

"Your Bella is a trooper," Esme said. "It's good to see you again Sheriff. If only it were under better circumstances."

Esme seemed to have the same effect on Charlie that she had over Bella. He immediately calmed down, and ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish smile. "Thank you for watching out for her while I was on my way. Was a few towns over, investigating those wild animal attacks and couldn't get back as quickly as I wanted."

"Oh, it was no problem at all," Esme said. "I was already here bringing Carlisle his dinner anyways. I like to lend a hand when I can."

A knock sounded from the door, and it opened slowly to reveal probably the most gorgeous man Bella had ever seen. He smiled at Esme and nodded a head towards Charlie before he leveled Bella with a caring look.

"Hi Bella, I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. How are you feeling?" Carlisle said as Esme slipped out of the room. Bella merely shrugged in response. She felt fine. And she'd continue to say it until they let her go home.

"Well that's thanks to Rosalie, I'm totally fine," Bella said. "She pushed me out of the way."

If Bella hadn't been watching, she would have missed the way his smile faltered slightly at the mention. It made her suspicious. She knew something was up. Rosalie had been nowhere near here when Tyler started to slide towards her. In fact, she'd been half way across the parking lot, but had some how managed to get to Bella in time to push her away from what could have been certain death.

"Yes…" he said. He continued to talk about possible tests to run Bella through as he felt around her head for other bumps and bruises. Bella winced when he poked a particularly tender spot near the base of her spine but was otherwise fine. "You shouldn't need any x-rays," he continued. "But we should do an MRI just to be safe."

"I'm fine," Bella felt herself saying it before she could stop herself. "Really, it's okay."

"Bella," Charlie said drawing her attention. He looked tired. He'd been up out late and up early nearly every night for the last week. The bags under his eyes were getting bigger by the day but he was more worried for Bella than his own health. "He's the doctor. If he thinks you should do this, then do it."

Bella sighed. If nothing else, she'd do it to keep Charlie from worrying, but she already knew what they'd say. Besides a headache, there was nothing wrong.

Sure enough, one MRI and an hour and a half later, Carlisle returned with the results of the test. "Just a bump on the head." he said with a chuckle. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. "Take some Tylenol and if the headache worsens or you have vision problems, call me or come back. I'll go get a nurse so we can get you started on release forms, and then, you should be set to go."

Carlisle shook Charlie's hand as he left the room and several minutes later a nurse returned with papers for him to sign. Bella in the meantime, sat and contemplated what had happened that day.

Something was up with the Cullens. She wanted to shake it off. Bella knew she as probably just crazy. She had hit her head after all. But something just wasn't right.

She'd decided to save it for another day though when a yawn threatened to suck her whole face in. She was exhausted, and she still had her homework to do that night. She didn't even realize how hungry she was until her stomach rumbled so loud, she felt the rest of her body shake with its resonance.

The waiting room was an awkward experience all together. When Esme said the entire school had shown up, she wasn't exaggerating. In fact, some of them had been right outside the door to her room. Mike, Jessica, and Angela had rushed up to her as she came out and immediately released a floodgate of questions onto her. Rather than drown, Bella gave a blanket "I'm fine" statement, then followed after Charlie out to the cruiser.

The ride home was done in silence. Bella too absorbed in her own personal dilemmas to talk to her father, stared out the window of the cruiser and watched the forest fly by. She could have sworn she saw something running through the trees but chalked it up to a trick of light. Disappointment was the emotion that eventually won out. Rosalie never come back to the hospital. Or Bella left before she got there.

She wasn't exactly sure why she cared so much, but it weighed heavy in her chest like someone hung weights on her ribs and heart. The way Rosalie had looked at her after the crash. Her eyes so afraid. Bella just couldn't figure out why Rosalie even cared or where a look like that could have come from. That was the first time Rosalie had even spoken to her. And her voice, Bella's breath hitched just thinking about it.

Bella was forced to stay home the next day. She tried to convince Charlie that she was fine but he had finally seen through the repeated words and refused to bow down to his daughter.

"Bella, you almost died," he said. It was soft. Bella had never heard Charlie speak that way before. It was because he was scared for her. Bella knew that of course but she didn't want the attention that missing school the day after an accident brought. The other students would probably show up at her door after school wondering if she was dead.

So, she stayed home. Bored. Eventually she settled on cleaning the house. But since only one person had lived there before her, there wasn't much to clean and she was done by noon. Thoughts of Rosalie were a constant in her head but she tried to ignore them in exchange for blaring loud rock music and trying not to trip as she danced across the floor with the vacuum.

3:30 PM rolled around and Bella found herself draped across the couch flipping through crappy television shows. She paused on a cooking show that involved some kind to twisted BDSM hand-cuffs to inhibit the chefs, and spent an hour or so laughing at the absurdity.

The doorbell rang halfway through the third consecutive episode, and Bella groaned as she got up off the couch to get the door. She swung it open to reveal Mike on the other side. She'd have groaned louder if she didn't think that would offend him.

"Bella!" he shouted. "How are you feeling? I brought you your homework. Figured I could help you out with some of it since you missed the lectures."

"Hi Mike," she said trying to hold back the resignation in her voice. She grabbed the books from him and stepped to the side to let him into the house. She considered telling him that she was fine and wouldn't need any help, but he'd been nice enough to bring the homework over so she figured she'd at least give him a little time. "Thanks for bringing it."

She guided him into the living room and plopped down in her dad's recliner hoping to avoid the close proximity that came with sitting on the couch. "So, what did I all miss?"

"Well Jessica wrote up those notes for you from your morning classes so I don't know what you missed from there," he said. "But! In biology, we did another lab. This time we were testing our blood types. It was really cool. Found out I was O negative. Mr. Banner said that's the universal donor, which I guess is pretty cool. In gym, we moved onto basketball…"

Bella zoned him out as he rambled on about the basketball game in gym. Something about Eric and Tyler on the other team and Bella couldn't get herself to care. She glanced over the notes that Jess had written for her, they were in a pink gel pen that made Bella's eyes hurt a little to read but they weren't half bad and might actually prove useful. She flipped through the few pages of English and Government notes until she paused on a page with a different hand writing. It swirled in a beautiful cursive that looked almost like calligraphy and it was so mesmerizing Bella didn't even read what it said.

"Oh," Mike said. "Those are from Alice Cullen. She heard I was collecting notes for you and offered hers from third period. That was the only class none of us had with you."

"That was nice of her," Bella muttered still staring at the hypnotic letters only to realize they were actually numbers and these were Algebra II notes."

"She's got really nice handwriting," Mike said close to her ear. He'd been sitting on the couch moments ago and the sudden sound caused Bella to jump and squeak. Mike grinned at her and gave her a chuckled sorry.

"I have to get to football practice," he said after several moments of silence. " I just figured that the earlier I got these to you the better."

He looked reluctant to leave as he had barely moved toward the door. Bella got up from her chair and walked with him over to the door, thanking him again for bringing her homework and notes. He blushed from the gratitude and opened the door.

"It was no big deal, really," he said. He went out the door and paused on the top step before turning around to face Bella again. He looked like he wanted to say something, or rather, he wanted Bella to say something but he just shook his head and continued on down the steps.

Bella sighed once the door was closed, partially grateful for the distraction her homework would provide, and partially disappointed that this would probably mean more unwanted attention from Mike.

The next morning, Bella rose early to get to school. She wanted to get there with enough time that she could find Rosalie and thank her for saving her. But Bella also wanted answers. How had Rosalie gotten there so fast? She needed to know.

Her feet carried her across the parking lot where she saw the Cullens leaned against their vehicles waiting for the first bell like they did every day. They were all as beautiful as ever. Alice and Jasper were holding hands and talking close to one another. Occasionally Alice would let out a small giggle and lay her hand on Jasper's chest. Edward leaned against his Volvo, staring at the crowd of students in the lot. He was being broody in Bella's opinion. He looked like he was about to spout off some nihilistic poetry about the meaningless lives they live. Emmett had gone inside almost the minute they'd gotten there and Bella had been relieved that she'd have at least one less Cullen to speak in front of.

As she got closer, all four Cullens turned their heads toward her. Alice was smiling at her encouragingly, but Rosalie was grimacing and looked ready to bolt. Wanting to keep that from happening, Bella increased her speed until she was half jogging across the parking lot to get to them and she arrived out of breath.

"Hi Bella," Alice said. The energy in her voice made Bella crack a smile around her labored breathing.

"Hey, Alice," she said around breaths. "Thanks for the notes. They were way better than anything I'd have been able to do."

"Of course," Alice said moving closer to Bella and grabbing one of her hands happily before releasing it and pulling Jasper off towards the school buildings. Edward took this as his cue to be anywhere but here and moved languidly across the parking lot to one of the outer buildings which Bella thought had some music rooms in it.

"Rosalie," Bella said looking at her feet. She heard a hum come from the other girl and pushed her chin up to look her in the eye but Rosalie avoided eye contact like she couldn't actually see Bella's eyes.

"I wanted to thank you for the other day," Bella said softly. "If it weren't for you, I might not be here."

Bella could have sworn she saw a flash of something in Rosalie's eyes but she wasn't sure what.

"I don't know how you got to me so fast bu—"

"I was beside you the whole time," Rosalie said quickly.

"No—"

"I was beside you the whole time," she said again leaving no room for argument. Suspicion only grew at Rosalie's insistence and she squinted at the blonde who had still refused to make eye-contact.

"Um, well, no," Bella said. "But regardless, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Rosalie said. "To anyone."

Rosalie walked away leaving an empty and ominous feeling growing in Bella's chest. She hadn't understood what the blonde had meant and she had a sinking feeling that it had more than one meaning.

Bella tried to catch up to Rosalie before she got to whatever class she was going to, but she tripped too many times to keep stride and lost her just before she entered the classroom. Giving up for the time, Bella went to her own first period class and plotted. She would get Rosalie to talk to her one way or another.

And above all, Rosalie would look her in the eye. No matter what it took. Rosalie would give her the truth.


End file.
